Bangalore: Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi for dubbing BJP as a "party of thieves", BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said his party cannot be called so as it is not in power and it was Congress which had all the means to loot.

"BJP is a principal opposition and we cannot be thieves. Thieves are those who are in power. They have the means to loot. We are a principal opposition party and we cannot be thieves, instead we are sentinels of government treasury," he told a BJP rally, addressed by party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Gandhi had called BJP as a "party of thieves" and accused it of "looting natural resources" of Chhattisgarh on Saturday.

On Sonia Gandhi calling Modi 'Maut ka Saudagar', Singh said, "Why you (Sonia) did not call then Gujarat Chief Minister Hitendra Desai 'Maut ka Saudagar' when about 60 dargahs and 27 mosques were burnt down during the 1969 Congress rule?"

He said Congress has adopted a policy of divide and rule after Independence. "In spite of ruling for 55 years, they have not allowed brotherhood among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, to flourish," he said.

However, BJP plays politics based on cherished values of humanity, he said. "BJP wants to woo people not by creating a sense of fear but by sense of confidence," he added.

He said India needs a lion-hearted Prime Minister to make the country strong so that no other country sets its eyes on it. "The lion-hearted Prime Minister is sitting amongst us," he said, referring to Modi.

Singh sought an answer from Congress for India not developing into a wealthy and strong nation even after ruling the country for 55 years.

"People of this country wants an answer from the Congress as to what is the reason that in spite of ruling the country for 55 years, India did not develop into a wealthy and strong nation as Japan? Congress has no answer," he said.